ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall football team earned a 16-12 victory against Lebanon Valley on Friday during the team's season opener. The Diplomats outscored the Flying Dutchmen 13-3 during the second half to complete the come-from-behind win. With the victory, the Diplomats improved to 79-53-3 all-time in season openers, snapping a two-game losing streak in season openers on the road.

First Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 3, Lebanon Valley 3)

Lebanon Valley grabbed the early momentum on the night as the Diplomats fumbled the opening play of the game and had a punt blocked during their second drive. Nonetheless, the defense stood tall and conceded just 12 yards during the first seven plays as the Dutchmen had just the 3-0 lead to show for their efforts. F&M quickly tied the game at three after a 35-yard field goal from Laurence Miller. The big plays on that drive to get the Diplomats in scoring possession were connections between Ty Tremba and his receivers Trey Glass and Jack Sutton.

Second Quarter (Lebanon Valley 9, Franklin & Marshall 3)

The Flying Dutchmen continued to be opportunistic early in the second half as Brody Robinson picked off an F&M pass and returned it 40 yards to make the score 9-3. Franklin & Marshall marched both of its ensuing drives in the half into enemy territory, but ultimately came away with no points.

Third Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 13, Lebanon Valley 9)

After forcing a three-and-out to start the second half, Tremba found Jack O'Hearen for a two-yard touchdown reception on F&M's first possession of the third quarter. The Diplomats got great field position after stopping LVC inside its own 20, with a 17-yard reception from Isaiah Brown putting the offense in scoring position again. That drive ended with a 34-yard field goal from Miller to make the score 13-9.

Fourth Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 16, Lebanon Valley 12)

The Flying Dutchmen embarked on the game's longest drive early in the fourth quarter as their 18-play possession went 76 yards, but stalled out inside the F&M 10 as Tom Papa came up with a pair of huge stops before an incomplete pass on third down forced the hosts to settle for a field goal. With the score set at 13-12 and just 7:22 remaining in the clock, LVC went for the element of surprise and recovered an onside kick to reclaim possession. Even with back-to-back possessions of being on the field, the defense continued to stifle every offensive attempt as another forth down stop was the result after Jeffrey Decker's sack on fourth-and-three.

Franklin & Marshall took over with 6:06 left in regulation and ran nearly five minutes off the clock before Miller added his third field goal of the night to put the Diplomats in front by a 16-12 score. LVC got the ball back with just 1:08 to work with, but a pair of big completions get the ball past midfield. However, the defense came up with yet another key stop as Decker took the quarterback down in bounds and kept the clock running before a spike and pair of incompletions marked the final plays in the Diplomats' season opening victory.

Key Stats

Franklin & Marshall outgained Lebanon Valley by a 293-276 edge in yards. The Diplomats ran for 150 of those yards, with Tremba (77 yds.) and Mitch Wagner (55 yards) accounting for 33 of the team's 40 carries. Tremba also completed eight passes for 159 yards. A huge chunk of that output came on a 75-yard completion to Matt Hanna during the second quarter. Glass added seven receptions for 39 yards while O'Hearen caught a total of four balls, including his touchdown reception.

The defense allowed just 2.9 yards per rush attempt during the victory and held LVC to 5-of-17 on third downs. Dante Medlar and Jacob Hille both recorded a team-high nine tackles during the win. Medlar accounted for eight of his nine stops in solo fashion while Hille and Decker each recorded a sack. Decker made two of his three tackles in the LVC backfield as he proved to be a disruption all night long. As a team, F&M made seven stops behind the line of scrimmage.

Up next

Football returns to action next Friday under the lights of Shadek Stadium with a 7 p.m. kickoff against The College of New Jersey. With new Centennial-NJAC scheduling agreement, the Diplomats and Lions will be meeting for the first time in program history. Following that first-ever meeting, Franklin & Marshall will celebrate the start of its new academic year with a post-game fireworks display shortly after the final whistle.